I recently got to spend some time with MeeGo, an Intel-sponsored Linux distribution designed for netbooks and other mobile devices (such as Nokia's extra-geeky N900 smartphone). I tested MeeGo on a Lenovo IdeaPad S10 netbook and I was extremely impressed.

I believe the problem is not just the task bar but also the window title bars/borders. This is why I use awesome on my netbook and will probably try MeeGo when it works on Mandriva. Moving windows around with a touchpad on a 8.9' 1024x600 display is like hitting nails with a broom. Awesome is awesome on the netbook. Just use the keyboard to move windows around and don't waste space with window borders/titles.